Vacuum cleaner



June 12, 1945. 35555 2,378,174

VACUUM CLEANER Filed May 12, 1942 Z SheetS-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY Patented June 12, 1945 2,378,174 VACUUM CLEANER Arnold HenryBeede, Fair-field, Conn.,- assignor to Electrolux Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation oi Delaware Application May 12, 1942, Serial No. 442,579

2 Claims. (crass-84) This invention relates to a wand or extension tube for, a vacuum cleaner, especially those of the pull-tank type in which an enclosed dust bag and suction unit is connected to a cleaning tool by means of a tube or hose and is pulled around from place to place when it is desired to clean in different areas. The principal object of the invention is to provide a wand that will be dura :ble and at the same time very light in weight, thereby reducing the efiort expended in moving the cleaning tool over afloor or rug that is being cleaned- A light weight wand, 'though desirable in all cases, isparticularly advantageous when the 'v'acuumcleaner is used for cleaning walls, curtains, and other objects at a relatively high level compared to the operator. 1

More specifically, itis an object of this invention to provide a tube composed in large part of fibre, paper, plastic, or other lightweight material. It is a 'further object of the invention to provide such a tube which may 'be used to connect the air conduit of a vacuum cleaner to the airflow, connection of a pneumatic cleaning tool.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a tube which may be connected between the air conduit of a vacuum cleaner and a similar tube already connected to apneumatic cleaning tool. It is a further object of the invention to provide such a tube which will wear well so that it will make a tight, rigid joint with the apparatus to which it is connected, even after it has been in use for a long time.

LA. further object of the invention'is to provide a composite wand formed in part ofa material that will wear well such as metal, and in large part of a less durable but lightfmaterial.

'One specific object of the invention isto provide a joint between the two parts of such a composite tube that will not pull apart nor worlc loose when in use.

A further object of the invention is to provide scoped into engagement with the other parts of the apparatus or. other extension tubes, and. which shall have accurate dimensions at its ends Where it telescopes. into engagement;

recessesjand' pockets on the interior thereof, so that littleflopportunitywill be afforded for the collecting of dust and dirt on the interior'surface of the tube.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a wand thatis made of a light weight material which shall not be subject todeterioration throughthe absorption of water from air fiowingtherethrough. 1

Another object of the invention isto provide a wand having a large end and a small end adapted to telescopically engage with the cone-- lative ends of a like wand or with the air con-' duit and. cleaningtool of a pneumatic cleaning device in which the large end is so shaped as to make line contact with. a tube inserted therein. Another object of the invention is to provide an extension tube or wand that presents a. pleasing appearance and is economical to manufacture.

Other objects. and advantages of the invention will appear as the description thereofproceeds. I 1

Referring to the drawings forming a part of this specification, Fig. 1 isa view showing the wand forming the subject ofthis invention assembled with other parts of a vacuum cleaner in the manner in which it is customarily used. Fig. 2 is a view of the wand when disassembled from the remaining apparatus. Fig. 3 isv a view of the small end of the wand and has been partly broken, away, so as to show the interior of the tube and a section through the joint between the metal insert and fibre body ofjthe tube. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing a modification of the means for keeping the metal insert from rotating with respect to the body of the tube. Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the large end of the tube and of the small end of [a similar tube inan extension tube which, when usedeitheralone or as one of a set of extension tubes, may be teleimum disturbance of and resistance to airflow therethrough, and that will have a minimum of serted therein. Fig. 6 is an enlarged view-of a detail of the large endof the tube showing the manner in which a ferrule is locked thereon.

Fig. 7 is a. view to a greatly enlarged scale, showing the structure of the joint between the metal insert and body or the tube.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, thereis shown a vacuum cleaner Ito which is connected a flexible hose 2 on theend of which is a metal tenninal 3. A cleaning tool 4 is connected to the terminal 3 by means of one ormore' wands or extension tubes 5. x r Referring to Fig. 2, there is shown a wand generally indicated at 5 which comprises a body member II made of some light material which is expanded at one end I2. There is a tapered provides for the expansion between the enlarged section It and the body. I I. The end of the metal insert I! is tapered as shown at I8. The taper I8 is of a more gradual slope than the taper I3 so that when one tube is inserted into the end of another, the joint between the corresponding parts I3 and I8 will approximate a line contact. At I9 is indicated a. ferrule orband for strengthening the joint between the members .I I' and I1 and also for improving the appearance thereof. The member 59 also serves to protect the end of the member II against abrasion.

Referring to Fig. 3, there is shown the'manner of joining the member II to the insert II. It is essential that this joint be capable of resisting the pushing, pulling and twisting strains imposed upon a wand when it is being connected and disconnected with the associated cleaner parts. The portion II! of the tube I'I extends within the enlarged section It of the tube II. The internal diameter of the tube I'I is substantially the same as that of the tube I I so that the portion Ill thereof when seated against the tapered portion I makes a fairly smooth joint at th interior surface of'the wand. When end I6 of tube II is assembled totube II, beads 2I and 22, which may be rolled onto the surface of the tube I'I, engage the enlarged end I6 of tube I I to prevent it from sliding with respect to tube I'L- A knurled portion 28 on the outer surface of the portion II! of tube II prevents the tube II from rotating with respect to tube I I. An alternativ scheme for preventing relative rotation of the tubes is shown in Fig. 4, in which a slot 23 cut into the end II! ofthe tube I1 engages a boss 24 formed on the interior surface of tube II. The boss 24 may be formed merely by not expanding that portion of tube II when the rest of the end of the tub is expanded to form en-. larged end I6.

Figures 5 and 6 show the construction of the large end of the wandand the manner in which it receives the small end of a similar tube or wand. In particular, there is shown the construction of the ferrule I4 fitted over the end I2 of the tube II. The enlarged end I2 of tube II is further expanded at 26 so that when the ferrule I4 is placed over the end thereof, the internal diameter of the ferrule will be approximately the same as the internal diameter of the portion I2 of the tube II. The taper 26 also serves to lock the ferrule in place when the ferrule is crimped to the tube. Slots are cut through the inner portion of the ferrule and the remaining tongue portions 21 between the slots are normally slightly out of contact with the inner surface of the tube; With this construction, when the end I! of a like tube or the terminal 3 of the air conduit is inserted, it will have to force outwardly the spring-like tongues 21, thereby forming a firm support at this point. Since the tapered portion I8 of the tube I'I will engage the junction 36 of tube II and the taper I3, forming a second point of support, the two tubes thus joined will be so supported that one cannot readily be moved with respect to'the other, in other words, there will be no wobbling or loose-. ness at the ioint. f

Since there is substantially but a line contact between portion I8 and juncture 36, any dirt collected on either part will in large part be forced away from the contact and thus will not prevent a tight seal. In the illustrated embodiment, one or both of the members is made of a soft material and any dirt not forced away from the contact will be forced into the material without the application of great force thereby assuring a tight seal.

If the tapered portions I3 and I8 were of equal slope so as to engage one another over an area,

, any dirt between them would not be forced aside as the parts ar pushed together and hence a tight seal would be prevented. Even if soft materials were used, the dirt over the entire area of contact could not be forced all the way into the material without the use of excessive force and such dirt would merely become partially embedded in the surface and continue to prevent a tight seal.

The tube II may be formed in any suitable way. However, as illustrative of one method of forming the tube I I,it may be made up of a sheet of paper rolled into the form of a tube of uniform circular cross-section. A glue of suitable characteristics is spread on one surface of the paper before the tube is rolled so that the final result, when the glue hardens, is a single solid tube. The glue and paper are chosen so that the resulting tubewill have desirable characteristics such as.ability to be worked, strength, and resistance to moisture and wear. The tube thus formed is out to size and is then humidified and heated to a suitable extent preliminary to expanding its ends. The ends of the tubes may be expanded by forcing them upon a mandrel having a proper shape.

' engagement with the end portion I6 of tube II.

The barb-like bead 22 passes through the ferrule I9. With this method of assembly, bead 22 must be of less height than bead 2I. However, with other methods of assembly the beads may be of the same height, or bead 22 may even be higher than bead 2|. In such case one of. the beads is formed after the ferrule is slipped onto tube I I. Just as the portion III of tube I1 engages the bottom of the enlarged portion I6 of tube I I, the bead 2I comes into engagement with the in-turned portion 32 of ferrule I9, thereby preventing further inward motion of tube I'I. Since head 22 has a tapered sidewall on the side which is driven into engagement with portion I6 of tube II and an abrupt sidewall on the other side thereof, it can be readily inserted within but cannot readily b withdrawn from the tube portion I6.

In order to increase the resistance to outward motion of tube II relative to tube portion I6, the rim 28 of ferrule I9 may be crimped inwardly so as to insure that the portion 29 of tube portion I6 seats tightly against the vertical side of head 22. In the usual manner ofcrimping, the corner 30 of the ferrul rim 28.Wl11 be closely adjacent the surface of the portion l6 of tube II. Due to the resilience of tube II, the corner 38 may not be exactly flush with .the surface of the tube I I. However, in the usual case, the bead v 22 of tube I! will cause a slight annular protu- 28- of fer rulevl9 and the enlarged portion-16 of tube H will formv a' nearly smooth surface and thereby give a neat appearance.

The turned-in portion"32 of ferrule I9 together 1 with bead 2|, covers the end 33 of tube [6 and protects it against abrasion. If the tube H is made of rolled paper as outlined abovepit will have a laminated structure, and theend 33. thereof willbe the point of least resistanceto the penetration of moisture; in such case it is particularly desirable that the portion 33 be covered. In addition to the functions of the ferrule l9 mentioned before, it also serves to prevent bead 2| from cutting into the end 33 of tube II as it would do, were not the ferrule used. Although it is possible to eliminate the ferrule I9 and permit the end 33 of tube I l to abut directly against bead metal ferrule placed over. the end thereof. Such aferrule is sufncientto prevent the diameter. of

the tube from changing-appreciably with changes in ambienttemperature and humidity. Since it is onlythe inner surfaceof thelarge endof the tube which; is subject to wear, a scratch-proof finish is unnecessary for-the interior appearance of the tube is relatively unimportant.

While only one embodiment of the invention has been described, it is obviousthat many modifications therein may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

For example, instead of knurling the surface of portion In of metal tube l1, slots may be cut therein and tongues forced outwardly therefrom, forming projections to engage the inner surface of tube ll.- Any other means may be used to increase the frictional resistance to rotation of tube II with respect to tube II or to positively 2|, such an arrangement would not be as desirable as that described.

The characteristics of the materials from which the tubes H and I! are composed are preferably such that the bead 22 will not be appreciably worn down or dulled when it is driven into the tube II and also that the tube II will have a' less resistance to deformation than tube-ll so that the bead 22 will be forced into the surface of tube l I. Tube II' should be sufficiently resilient so that it will fall in behind the steep side of bead 22 as at 29, thereby locking the tubes in engagement with one another. Tube [1 should be made of a durable wear resistant material so that its outside dimensions will not change appreciably when the tube is used. I

The air connection pipe of a cleaning tool i usually of a rather short length such as the portion 34 of tool 4 shown in Fig. 1. If such a tool were connected to a wand which was not formed of wear resisting material, the end ofthe wand would soon wear down to such a point that it would seat against the bottom of the air connection of the cleaning tool. Such bottoming of the wand would prevent it from being forced into tight engagement with the tool, with the result that either a loose joint would be formed or the tool would fall off the wand when it was lifted away from the tool. This is'one of the reasons that the wand is not made wholly of a light material such as paper, fibre, or a plastic but must instead be formed as a composite part having a metal end for engagement with the cleaning tool.

Another factor requiring the use of a metal- The large end of the wand need not be made of metal because it is not subject to all of the requirements'outlined above for the small end. There is plenty of roomfor another tube to be inserted as far as possible into the large end of the tube and hence there is no danger that it will bottom. The size of the large end of the tube may be accurately controlled by means of a lock them against relative rotation. The ferrulei l at the large end of the wand has been shown as having spring tongues formed on the inside thereof but it is obvious that other resilient engaging means such as' a spring clip or spring pressed buttons. could be used satisfactorily at this point. It is merely desirable to form a secof the invention falling within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: 1. An extension tube comprising a rigid tubular member of a light non-metallic resilient material, a metallic tube section of a material less readily deformed fitted into one end of said member, said tube section having a raised annulus adapted to prevent the tube section from being forced further into said member andanother annulus 0f barb-like cross section on the part of the tube section within said member and in locking engagement with said member adapted to prevent the tube section from being withdrawn from said member while presenting a minimum of resistance to insertion therein and longitudinal means on thepart of the tulbe section within said member and in looking engagement with said member adapted to prevent the tube section from being rotated in eitherdirection with respect to said member while presenting but little resistance to relative axial movement of said section and said member, and a collar aroundsaid end of said member, the inside diameter of 'one end of the collar being of less diameter than the diameter prior to assembly of the outside of said member so as to force said member into tighter locking engagement with the barb-like annulus, the other end of said collar having a flange extending between said raised annulus and the extreme terlarger uniform diameter, a tube section adapted.

to fit intosaid tubular member and having a. constant outside diameter except at its terminus which is tapered to be received and engaged by the tapered portion of the tubular member thereby preventing further entrance of the tube section into the tubular member, the taper of the terminus of thetu-be section being less than that of the tapered portion of the tubular member, and spring means attached to the terminus of the tubular member and extending longitudinally inwardly thereof and adapted to ciampingly engage 5 the outer surface of the inserted tube section ARNOLD HENRY BEEDE. 

